American Idol

American Idol is an amazing show that’s captured the American audience, but this season, the whole franchise is in jeopardy due to a hateful group of people that are deliberately trying to sabotage the competition. There is a website called “Vote for the Worst” that tries to convince people to vote for the worst singer left in the competition. That person this season is clearly Sanjaya. A sweet 17 year old kid who actually has some talent, but is clearly outclassed by all of the other competitors remaining, as well as the other finalists who have been voted off due to this prank. A guy like Sundance for example, who clearly had potential and a big voice was dispatched while Sanjaya remained. Those that have already been eliminated aren’t the only victims in this. Sanjaya himself, a bright eyed 17 year old is being mocked and ridiculed in the media. It’s not his fault, but he will undoubtedly have to live with the embarrassment of being the butt of an ugly joke for the rest of his life. Why do we do this to such a seemingly nice kid? Why do we take pleasure in his failures? What kind of person takes pleasure from such a thing? It amazes me how silly, foolish, and hateful our society can be. This also happened with the NHL All Star game when a group decided to start a website called, “Vote for Rory.” The NHL allowed fans to vote for anyone they wanted to be in the all-star game, and Rory Fitzpatrick, a below average defenseman with one goal, in like, six seasons, became their boy. Disregarding the fact that if they were successful, they’d be robbing a player who earned and deserved a spot, a chance to play in the All-Star game. How hateful are we? What other explanation can there be aside from liking to watch people fall, mocking people, and destroying something good? It reminds me of an episode of Sopranos called, “The Happy Wanderer.” It was one of my favorite episodes. Anyway, in this particular episode Tony Soprano is explaining that he has hate in his heart and he can’t rationalize it, saying, “I see a guy walking down the street, whistling, happy, and I want to break his face in. How sick is that? I should say, good luck to him. I’m happy for you. But instead, I want to break his nose. What are you so happy about!!!” People in America love American Idol. If you don’t, that’s your right. Trying to sabotage the show, though, just seems like such a hateful thing to do and I can’t imagine that anyone who does that genuinely feels good about it afterwards. It’s a crying shame when a small group of people ruin things for the rest of us. It’s a shame because they often get away with it, as they have this season with American Idol and how that site www.voteforrory.com also came close to making a mockery of the NHL All-Star game. Frankly, it’s not all that much different from what terrorists are trying to accomplish. They want to take your liberties and your freedom away from you. They’ve accomplished a lot, and anyone who’s ever been to an airport since 9/11 should understand that. Terrorists don’t want you to be happy. They don’t want you to enjoy things and if they can find a way to destroy something you enjoy, they’ll try. Obviously making a comparison between American Idol and terrorism seems absurd, and it is, but it helps illustrate my point. If enough hateful people thought this prank was a good idea and ended up backing the winner, it would destroy the show. Completely destroy it in it’s current form. The most likely scenario would be that America would no longer get to choose the winner. Either that, or the show would be cancelled entirely. I really hope that doesn’t happen and Sanjaya is eliminated this evening. I actually really like him and think he’s shown a lot of maturity in what has to be a tormenting experience for him. I want this nightmare to be over for him. I have empathy for him because he seems like a good soul. A little naive, but this world would be a much better place if everyone had a heart like his. He doesn’t deserve this. I just hope that the “American Idol terrorists” don’t hurt him so badly that it hardens his heart and changes him as a person. There are some amazingly talented singers left in the competition and I think everyone will he happier when the Sanjaya saga is over. At least, everyone except the owner of the website “vote for the worst” and his followers. Here